Chaeles b



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C. B.0LA,RK 8p H. 0.-'H'ART. SPRING HINGE.

No. 244,185. y Patented July 12,1881..

` yf Ely@- WMM* Wm- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. CLARK AND HENRY C. HART, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGrN ORS TO THE CLARK HARDWARE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPRING-HINGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,185, dated July 12, 1881.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES B. CLARK and HENRY C. HART, citizens of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of W'ayne and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spring Door- Hinges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of springhinges for doors and gates in which a spiral spring encircles the pintle of the hinge and is fastened at one end to an eye on one of the leaves and at the other to a collar secured to the pintle, whereby the pintle can be turned and the tension of the spring adjusted.

The object of our invention is to provide a spring-hinge of a very simple structure, in which the tension of the spring can be adjusted'and regulated by simply rotating the pintle in its bearings, without the necessity of adjusting or manipulating any other part of the hinge, and to so arrange the structure composing the' hinge that the longitudinal elasticity of the coiled spring serves to firmly maintain the parts in their adj usted position. These objects we accomplish by the construction and arrangement of parts clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan view of a hinge embodying our invention; Fig. 2, a vertical central sectional view through the eyes of the hinge, and Fig. 3 detached perspective views of the pintle and the devices for locking or holding it in its adjusted position.

The letters A and B indicate the two leaves of a hinge having at their upper and lower ends respectively the laterally-projecting lugs a, provided with eyes or openings for the passage of the pintle C. The lower eyed lug of the leaf B is provided on its upper face with in clined projections b b, which terminate abruptly in a vertical face to form the stationary stop c, and upon the pintle is loosely arranged a cup-shaped collar, D, having its lower face provided with a series of ratchet-teeth, d, and upon the inner portion of the collar is formed an inwardly-projecting lug, e, which sits within a vertical elongated groove or recess, f, formed inthe lower end of the pintle. This construc- Application tiled May 7, 1881. (Model.)`

tion compels the collar to rotate when the pintle is turned, but permits said collar torslide vertically in order to ride over the stationary stop c in adjusting the tension of the spring, as hereinafter explained.

l, The lower end of the coiled spring E rests within the cup-shaped ratchet-collar D, and is rigidly connected with said collar by having its end bent and passed through or into the slot or recess g of the collar. The upper end of the coiled spring rests within a cupfshaped collar, F, which is loosely arranged upon and is independent of the pintle, said collar having the sloth, through which the upper end of the spring extends, and rests against the bead at the inner edge of the leaf A, as shown in Fig. 1, the object of such arrangement beingto sustain the upper end of the coiled spring in a strained condition and in a fixed position relative to the leaf A, while the pintle can be fully rotated in said collar to adjust the tension of the spring by straining it from its lower end. The torsion of the spring serves to effectually conne the pintle in place, while not preventing the rotation of the latter to adjust the tension of the sprin g, and for such purpose the upper end of the pintle is provided with a transverse aperture, i, in which a pin, nail, or other instrument can be inserted for the purpose of rotating the pintle and thereby turning the ratchet-collar D, which, riding up over the inclined projection b, is automatically thrown into engagement with the fixed stop c, and thereby locked or heldin its adjusted position. There may be more than two of the lixed stops c on the eye ofthe leaf B 5 but for the sake of simplicity two are preferred, and the number of ratchet-teeth on the collar D may be varied; but to permit nice adjustment it is desirable to provide several of such teeth, as represented; and in lieu of the pintle having a transverse opening to receive a pin by which to rotate it, there may be provided an angular head to receive a wrench; but we prefer the form shown, as it imparts symmetry and nish to the pintles.

A spring-hinge constructed according to our invention provides a very simple and inexpensive structure, in which the parts are made entirely separate from each other, but are not liable to become disconnected or inoperative, and whereby the tension of the spring can be adjusted by simply rotating the pintle, thereby avoiding the necessity of manipulating any other part of the structure composing the hinge in order to accomplish such purpose.

It will be manifestfrom the foregoing description that the structure comprising the hinge is so arranged that the longitudinal elasticity or pressure of the hinge-spring subserves the function of keeping the ratchet in contact with the stationary stop when turning the pintle, and also rmly maintains the parts in their adjusted position.

l. The combination, in a door-spring, of two leaves, a pintle having an elongated vertical recess or groove in its lower end, a ratchetcollar arranged on the pintle and having a lug engaging the recess or groove in the latter, and a stationary stop arranged on the eye of one of the hinge-leaves, said collar being connected with the coiled spring and arranged to rotate with, but slide vertically on, the pintle, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a spring-hinge, the combination of two leaves each having top and bottom eyed lugs through which passes a pintle which connects the leaves together, with a coiled spring encircling the pintle and occupying the space between the eyed lugs ot' the leaves, and-an automatically-adj ustablelockingdevice rigidly attached to one end of the coiled spring, and by the longitudinal elasticity of the spring made to interlock itself with a part of one of the hinge-leaves, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

J. S. HADDOCK, W. J. MILLER. 

